The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ. Levi

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ and peace, and this is heaven. Do you not know that such a heaven is for you?

      7 The man replied, Of heaven we have heard; but then it is so far away, and we must live so many lives before we reach that place!

      8 And Jesus said, My brother, man, your thoughts are wrong; your heaven is not far away; and it is not a place of metes and bounds, is not a country to be reached; it is a state of mind.

      9 God never made a heaven for man; he never made a hell; we are creators and we make our own.

      10 Now, cease to seek for heaven in the sky; just open up the windows of your hearts, and, like a flood of light, a heaven will come and bring a boundless joy; then toil will be no cruel task.

      11 The people were amazed, and gathered close to hear this strange young master speak,

      12 Imploring him to tell them more about the Father-God; about the heaven that men can make on earth; about the boundless joy.

      13 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, A certain man possessed a field; the soil was hard and poor.

      14 By constant toil he scarcely could provide enough of food to keep his family from want.

      15 One day a miner who could see beneath the soil, in passing on his way, saw this poor man and his unfruitful field.

      16 He called the weary toiler and he said, My brother, know you not that just below the surface of your barren field rich treasures lie concealed?

      17 You plow and sow and reap in scanty way, and day by day you tread upon a mine of gold and precious stones.

      18 This wealth lies not upon the surface of the ground; but if you will but dig away the rocky soil, and delve down deep into the earth, you need no longer till the soil for naught.

      19 The man believed. The miner surely knows; he said, and I will find the treasures hidden in my field.

      20 And then he dug away the rocky soil, and deep down in the earth he found a mine of gold.

      21 And Jesus said, The sons of men are toiling hard on desert plains, and burning sands and rocky soils; are doing what their fathers did, not dreaming they can do aught else.

      22 Behold, a master comes, and tells them of a hidden wealth; that underneath the rocky soil of carnal things are treasures that no man can count;

      23 That in the heart the richest gems abound; that he who wills may open up the door and find them all.

      24 And then the people said, Make known to us the way that we may find the wealth that lies within the heart.

      25 And Jesus opened up the way; the toilers saw another side of life, and toil became a joy.

      CHAPTER 34

      The Jubilee in Kapavistu. Jesus teaches in the plaza and the people are astonished. He relates the parable of the unkept vineyard and the vine dresser. The priests are angered by his words.

      It was a gala day in sacred Kapavistu; a throng of Buddhist worshippers had met to celebrate a Jubilee.

      2 And priests and masters from all parts of India were there; they taught; but they embellished little truth with many words.

      3 And Jesus went into an ancient plaza and he taught; he spoke of Father-Mother-God; he told about the brotherhood of life.

      4 The priests and all the people were astounded at his words and said, Is this not Buddha come again in flesh? No other one could speak with such simplicity and power.

      5 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, There was a vineyard all unkept; the vines were high, the growth of leaves and branches great.

      6 The leaves were broad and shut the sunlight from the vines; the grapes were sour, and few, and small.

      7 The pruner came; with his sharp knife he cut off every branch, and not a leaf remained; just root and stalk, and nothing more.

      8 The busy neighbors came with one accord and were amazed, and said to him who pruned, You foolish man! the vineyard is despoiled.

      9 Such desolation! There is no beauty left, and when the harvest time shall come the gatherers will find no fruit.

      10 The pruner said, Content yourselves with what you think, and come again at harvest time and see.

      11 And when the harvest time came on the busy neighbors came again; they were surprised.

      12 The naked stalks had put forth branch and leaf, and heavy clusters of delicious grapes weighed every branch to earth.

      13 The gatherers rejoiced as, day by day, they carried the rich fruitage to the press.

      14 Behold, the vineyard of the Lord! the earth is spread with human vines.

      15 The gorgeous forms and rites of men are branches, and their words are leaves; and these have grown so great that sunlight can no longer reach the heart; there is no fruit.

      16 Behold, the pruner comes, and with a two-edged knife he cuts away the branches and the leaves of words,

      17 And naught is left but unclothed stalks of human life.

      18 The priests and they of pompous show, rebuke the pruner, and would stay him in his work.

      19 They see no beauty in the stalks of human life; no promises of fruit.

      20 The harvest time will come and they who scorned the pruner will look on again and be amazed, for they will see the human stalks that seemed so lifeless, bending low with precious fruit.

      21 And they will hear the harvesters rejoice, because the harvest is so great.

      22 The priests were not well pleased with Jesus’ words; but they rebuked him not; they feared the multitude.

      CHAPTER 35

      Jesus and Vidyapati consider the needs of the incoming age of the world.

      The Indian sage and Jesus often met and talked about the needs of nations and of men; about the sacred doctrines, forms and rites best suited to the coming age.

      2 One day they sat together in a mountain pass, and Jesus said, The coming age will surely not require priests, and shrines, and sacrifice of life.

      3 There is no power in sacrifice of beast, or bird, to help a man to holy life.

      4 And Vidyapati said, All forms and rites are symbols of the things that men must do within the temple of the soul.

      5 The Holy One requires man to give his life in willing sacrifice for men, and all the so-called offerings on altars and on shrines that have been made since time began, were made to teach man how to give himself to save his brother man; for man can never save himself except he lose his life in saving other men.

      6 The perfect age will not require forms and rites and carnal sacrifice. The coming age is not the perfect age, and men will call for object lessons and symbolic rites.

      7 And in the great religion you shall introduce to men, some simple rites of washings and remembrances will be required; but cruel sacrifice of animals, and birds the gods require not.

      8 СКАЧАТЬ